


flower in the mirror

by xCloudy_1412



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Akako and Aoko are best girls, Angst with a Happy Ending, Barely any I swear, Flower Language, Hanahaki Disease, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Blood, Mild Gore, Pining, Post-Conan Kudou Shinichi, Shinichi and Kaito live together, hanakotoba, hurt kaito
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 23:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15873798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xCloudy_1412/pseuds/xCloudy_1412
Summary: It wasn't a simple magic trick that Kaito could poof away, and he wasn't planning on getting rid of it so he gave himself a deadline of his last breath.





	flower in the mirror

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome!! To another round of hurting Kai— Ahem.
> 
> Welcome to my fic, dearies! This time around, I decided to go for a more somber theme versus the last one shot. It's a prompt I've always admired and wanted to do for a long time (trust me, one of my most favorite fanfics is also a hanahaki one) and I've finally gotten the guts to type it out!
> 
> The title of this fic was taken from the direct translation of 'Kyōka Suigetsu(鏡花水月)' which is 'Flower in the Mirror, Moon on the Water" meaning 'Something Visible but Intangible' which really fits Kaito's situation here! It could also mean 'The subtle but profound beauty of poems that can't be described in words' and I can go on about these two facts but I won't stall you any further!
> 
> I have my usual warnings for this fic, grammatical errors, slight trigger warnings for vomiting, mild gore/blood and pain portrayed a lot. Without further ado, read on!

Kaito loved flowers.

If the colorful roses that reside in his miniature garden by the apartment and what Shinichi complains about weren't enough testimony, he still had the white orchids hanging by his bedside, the Bells of Ireland that littered the living room and the corners of various places and the chrysanthemums that hung by the main door of his shared apartment with Shinichi and well, the list goes on and simply, Kuroba Kaito loved flowers.

Of course it would it would catch his attention when the nation wide news broadcast about it.

_"Earlier this morning, the up and rising stage actress Katami Momoi was seen on live television to have **vomited** a large patch of flowers,"_

_The TV showed a clip from the morning talk show, Kaito loved to watch in his spare time. Showing a beautiful brunette with honey dew eyes coughing out vibrant red flowers rimmed around the center with white, complete with the hip and a short stem._

_"This occurrence is called the **Hanahaki Disease** and is widely known for affecting those with strong unrequited emotions. Studies currently do not have scientific basis as to why this disease happens as of current. In other news—"_

The TV was abruptly shut off by Kaito's roommate who looked rather annoyed at the loud ruckus the TV made in their small apartment. "They've been going on and on about that stupid disease," The detective grumbled as Kaito hummed in agreement, "They don't even have proper claims that it's real, I bet it's just a ploy to get more audience shares." Shinichi deduced against the cup of his 'I <3 Sherlock' cup which was a gag gift from Heiji and Kaito's gaze found their way back to the black screen of the TV.

"Yeah, you're probably right," The magician agreed but nonetheless, he found the Anemone flowers that cascaded from the actress' mouth painfully beautiful. 

At his magic show, all they talked about was Katami Momoi. During rehearsals and at backstage, all Kaito heard were the silent gossip about the actress. 

_"They're gonna make her get the surgery, no doubt about it."_

_"She fell in love with a rival company's talent, they said. Poor girl."_

_"It's pretty bad, Stage 3 they said. Hold the surgery for any longer and she's gonna die."_

Aoko, bless his manager, was the one who chased away said gossips and made the team focus on their work with a strong 'Get back to work or I'm gonna get the mop!'. Said threat was enough to keep the workers up and about without any needless chatter, the show went on like always with Kaito executing the most spectacular of magic tricks. The thoughts of the Katami Momoi scandal slipped his mind afterwards and never resurfaced in his memories again, that is until Shinichi brought it upon during dinner.

They were halfway through their beef stew when Shinichi decided to bring it up with a simple, "Hey, did your staff talk about Katami Momoi today?"

To which Kaito nodded gravely to, "Yeah, it was all they talked about as if they hadn't seen the poor roadkill puppy they featured on the same news!" He exclaimed with a pout, Shinichi just snorted and shook his head. "There was no roadkill, it was a roadside murder. Remember, the one I solved? With the fake blood props to make the deformed body look like an oversized deer kill?" Kaito motioned to their food with flourish, "Right, I'll stop talking." Shinichi said with a sheepish smile and a scratch of his head, Kaito felt a lump in his throat from the simple actions. 

The rest of dinner went of without a hitch, they fell into a familiar rhythm of Shinichi doing the dishes and Kaito tidying up the table. They squeezed into their small bathroom together to brush their teeth and get ready for bed when Kaito had to clear his throat, due to a weird sensation as if something was blocking his esophagus. Weird, was he coming down with a cold and phlegm? 

The two bid each other goodnight before retiring to their respective rooms, Kaito wasn't able to get a wink of sleep at the thought of how cute the detective looked in his deerstalker and magnifying glass pajamas.

✿

The next days went by peacefully, with Shinichi solving a cases for Division One while Kaito was doing well with his daily magic shows and nighttime job. As per usual, Pandora was nowhere in sight and Nakamori was still as spry as ever, even after 5 years of chasing after the newly returned Kaito KID.

But still, 5 years was quite a long time. 

It's been exactly 4 years and 5 months since he met little Edogawa Conan and discovered his little secret, about the Black Organization and the drug that shrunk the high school detective into a tiny elementary kid. 3 years since Kaito KID aided the police during the take down of the B. O. and their branches all throughout Japan and Kaito had confessed to Aoko (got rejected) and told her (and Hakuba) about his nighttime job and motives, 2 years and 11 months since Edogawa Conan left for 'America' and Kudo Shinichi returned, much to the happiness of his friends back at Beika, a year and 4 months since Shinichi moved out of his haunted mansion of a house and pooled money with Kaito to purchase a flat conveniently placed in between the Tokyo Police Department and Kaito's regular venue for magic shows. A decent two bedroom apartment with a small living room and kitchen, just enough for two people. 

It's also been 5 years straight of nothing but Pandora and Kudo Shinichi, the latter Kaito didn't really mind (he loved the detective's presence, he offered comfort he could never get from anyone else) but Pandora, he's stolen a grand total of 407 gems over the course of 5 years and not a single one glowed bright red under the familiar cold moonlight.

Discouraging as it was, Kaito didn't want to know what would happen if said immortal gem fell into the hands of an unsuspecting person. 

Now as for his roommate, Kaito simply _loved_ his company. For firsts, he knew all his secrets so Kaito didn't have to hide anything (except for heists notices, he wasn't gonna give him a head start!) and Shinichi didn't mind the long nights Kaito would go on searching for potential targets and composing heists and stunts, overall he was the perfect roommate that Kaito knew he didn't deserve. 

Kaito knew that he found comfort with the detective, seeing as how he was there for his bumbling confession to Aoko and Hakuba, how he was there to help him actually _physically_ go to his father's grave to tell him that he had avenged him and that the crows were gone (he cried that day and Shinichi had given him the most awkward hug he's ever experienced in life), he was there when Konnosuke Jii died, at a tender age of 86. Kaito knew it would happen but the lack of the old man left a hole in his heart as his only connection to his father (other than his mother) was gone. Basically, the man was with him for every milestone over the past years and Kaito would never trade him for anyone else. 

Come to think of it, Kaito never actually thought of dating. After the fiasco with his infatuation for Aoko, Kaito never seemed out another love. Not even when Aoko sent him to a mixer just because Kaito was spending Valentine's alone and Aoko was going on a date with Mouri Ran and had no time to coddle him, he ended up bumping into Shinichi while girls (and boys) draped themselves all over the magician and he ended up spending the rest of the day taste testing alcohol with Shinichi. 

Overall, Love was never Kaito's priority and he didn't really mind, if he had a soulmate somewhere out there surely they could wait. 

Sure, he never bothered about love but he has noticed how he himself notices how Shinichi's hair would be the slightest bit disheveled in the mornings, or how Shinichi always fumbles with his apartment key whenever he's waist deep in thoughts and deductions, or how Shinichi always squeezes his self into their tiny bathroom to brush his teeth while Kaito shaves away tiny stubble (much to the magician's horror), or how Shinichi always prepares Kaito's hot chocolate first and checks if he added the right amount of sugar to his drink and yeah, Kaito was gay but definitely not for the detective. 

Sure, he found the detective hot but it wasn't love, Kaito wasn't capable of that. Oh how wrong he was.

He noticed the first sign in the morning, wherein he awoke to a scratchy throat as if he decided to chug down an entire glass of sand. Shinichi had looked at him quizzically throughout breakfast as the thief was uncharacteristically silent until Kaito gave him a note saying that he had some sort of sore throat watching as Shinichi's shoulders dropped a drastic amount in relief, the magician had to let out a silent chuckle at the cute behavior. 

Sore throats were uncommon for Kaito, even during cold seasons or days where he chugged down ice water. It really should have tipped him off and yet he ignored it, along with how Kaito's chest tightened at the sight of Shinichi's smile whenever he greeted him 'Welcome Back!' Or 'Have a safe trip!' And how his throat closes whenever Shinichi makes sure to say 'Good Morning' even when he's still grumpy and overall pouty without his morning coffee. Really, he should have noticed. But he needed a huge sign to get him to notice and the gods decided that one of his shows was a good time to do so.

✿

He messed up.

In the middle of a show Kaito messed up.

In the middle of a show that _Shinichi_ was watching, critics be damned. Kaito didn't want the detective to see him mess up!

It was a regular show, with his usual tricks and the usual routine. But this time around, Shinichi had enough time to spare and decided to watch his show. Luckily, Kaito always reserved a seat for his favorite critic, front row, right before the stage mark with a plaque on the back of the chair saying _'Reserved for my favorite critic'_. It's been a while since Shinichi last came to his show and he could feel the nervousness gripping onto him like a vice.

The show started, Kaito managed to ease himself through the first half and that was when things fell apart.

Kaito found his eyes fluttering towards the detective in front of him and his breath hitched.

The light that came from the stage gently illuminated the detective, showing his pristine suit and tie along with the soft smile that was etched on his face. He looked surreal, too beautiful, too perfect and gods, Kaito shouldn't have looked him in the eyes. Azure eyes held immense fondness in them, as if watching their first born walk for the first time and Kaito couldn't _breathe_.

He slipped, his hand slipped and he dropped his prop. 

Luckily he improvised, dropping a small bomb of confettis on the floor and pretended to cough, he found himself actually coughing for real. His throat hurt, it felt scratchy and dry. He couldn't even swallow his own spit without wincing. 

He finished his show quickly, thankfully the guests still enjoyed, judging from the thunderous applause that came from the crowd. Kaito retreated backstage and towards his dressing room, quickly followed by Aoko who was screaming about how he changed the order of magic tricks and caused the workers a lot of trouble but Kaito couldn't hear anything, he was still stuck on Shinichi's deep azure eyes, so bright and so loving. 

Kaito made it into his dressing room before promptly collapsing on his knees and coughing up a storm of petals, faintly he could hear Aoko closing the door and gasping at the sight before her.

A flurry of bright yellow petals spilled from Kaito's lips as he choked and tried to gasp for breath as the onslaught of petals continued to fall from his mouth. He couldn't move, his lungs burned and felt as if someone was scratching the insides of if with nails. In the back of his head, he found himself laughing miserably at his own self for ever doubting the news and the whole Katami Momoi scandal. Oh, how cruel the world was.

It took 10 minutes for the petals to stop, 10 minutes of pure torture as Kaito choked out petal after petal. A sense of dread filled his stomach, as his vision swam and his heart thumped against his ears. Hazily, he noted that Aoko looked more distressed than the time they were 12 and Kaito was performing a magic trick on a tight rope 5 stories above her. 

He was guided to the couch, placed down and given a glass of water. Aoko didn't speak, she let the magician rest of a while which Kaito would be eternally grateful for because he never deserved such a caring best friend. A few minutes passed and Kaito finally calm down, taking in deep breaths in an attempt to not go into shock. 

Aoko sat beside him, rubbing circles on his back and holding his left hand as if to say that she was there. Finally, Aoko spoke up and she got to the first syllable before Kaito interrupted her in a hoarse voice, "I'm not taking the surgery," Hastily following it up with a small 'Yet' as he saw the deadly expression on Aoko's face.

"Kaito, we need to get rid of it as soon as possible or your health might deteriorate!" Aoko hissed out, panic clear in her grey eyes while the magician simply shook his head, "Give me some time, please." _'I want to say my peace.'_ was left unspoken but his manager understood as she hesitantly nodded and stood up to clean the pile of petals on the floor.

Kaito remained unmoving on the couch as he looked down at the petals that Aoko swept and he couldn't help but let out a sigh. Marigolds, great. Even the disease was telling him that it was hopeless but— 

How does one confess to someone like Kudo Shinichi?

✿

The next day, Kaito found himself calling someone he thought he'd never call.

The target answered after the fourth ring, and loud high pitched 'Oh ho ho ho~!' pierced Kaito's ear making him wished he hadn't called,

"What brings you of all people to call me, Kuroba Kaito?" The lady on the other end asked with an edge, her voice coated with a sickly sweet tone that made Kaito want to vomit again. 

"I need to talk to you in person, Blue Parrot, 4 pm. Do not be late, I swear Akako." Kaito hissed out, feeling pathetic for being this needy for the scarlet witch. "Oh ho ho ho~! Of course, Kuroba-kun. I'll go there right now!" The witch hung up and Kaito made his way to the familiar bar, after Jii's death Kaito purchased the place with his own money, wanting to keep the place as a memorandum of the late assistant. Even now his Legendary Cue still hung on the wall. 

After a short 5 minute walk, Kaito arrived at the Blue Parrot and true to her words, Koizumi Akako sat by the bar in her full seductive glory. "Did you teleport here?" Kaito asked with a snicker, watching as Akako fumbled and spluttered, sending him a glare. 

"What do you need of me, Kuroba-kun?" Akako inquired with a sharp gaze as Kaito sat down two seats from her.

"Do you know anything about the Hanahaki Disease?" Kaito asked hesitantly, wincing as Akako's face morphed into horror. "Who is it?! I heard that the disease could disappear if the target of the feelings disappears too!" Akako asked and although Kaito was flattered by her concern, he wanted Shinichi alive. 

"Calm down! I'm just asking, I don't have it." He lied smoothly and although he knew it didn't fool Akako, she went with it and answered him, "I am familiar with it, it is a branch of red magic that went rampant and spread across the world during the late witch hunts." Akako turned to face him, preparing for a story and Kaito had to make himself hot chocolate because this was going to be a long one.

"Rumors around the covenant say that long ago, there lived a Witch of Red Magic. The master of it if you want to push things, she was the most powerful witch amongst the different magic users and no one dared to defy her. That was until she met an ordinary flower boy who didn't seem to fear her, they met while the boy was selling flowers and the two conversed and got along, they said that every time the two met the flower boy would offer the witch a different flower each time, time passed by and the witch fell in love. The feelings seemed to be reciprocated as the boy accepted her confession and the two became a couple until the witch decided to show her true colors," Akako's expression turned grim as she continued.

"The boy was horrified to find out the truth, he ran away. Told the villagers about the witch and they had killed her on a stake, watching as the witch said one last chant before bursting to embers into the inky night sky." The witch's expression turned sad for a moment, as she carried on with her story. 

"Then all was peaceful, the witch was never heard of again." She concluded and Kaito was about to talk when Akako shushed him and continued on, "That was, until the flower boy fell in love again, this time with a fair young lady, born into a rich family and destined to marry into another noble family. It was said that no matter what the boy did, he could never make the girl fall in love with him and one day, the girl's father caught the boy in his daughter's room and had the boy trailed for sexual harassment and trespassing, he was sent to execution by guillotine." Akako grimaced at the thought of the brutal killing and Kaito had to wince as well.

"But during the execution," Akako drew in a shaky breath, "When the boy's head was cut off, instead of blood, flowers blossomed from the boy's cut off throat and that is the origin's of the disease." The long haired beauty finished her story in a somber note, "Witches all over the world say that the Red Witch cursed the boy to never find love and that the flowers that came from his body were a reminder of his time with the Witch, a reminder of the days where he gave her flowers and ultimately ended her life. It's a cruel story but in the end it's just a story, I'm not sure if it's real or nor." Akako shrugged as she feigned indifference but the distress was clear, Akako hated witch hunts, go figure. 

"So," Kaito started with a fidget, "Can a witch like you reverse this disease? Like, without getting rid of the love and feelings like the surgery option?" Akako gave him a pitiful glance that Kaito chose to ignore.

"Kuroba-kun, the Hanahaki Disease works with the heart. No amount of magic in the whole history of witches and warlocks has ever figured out the true meaning of one's heart and I can safely tell you, magic will only worsen your case." Akako's eyes looked fairly sad, as if she was remembering something from a far off time. "I suggest you get the surgery soon," She piped up with a clear of her throat. 

"I don't have it!" Kaito whined out, placing his cup down while Akako raised a finely penciled eyebrow. "Fine then, you don't have it but please do tell someone who does to get the surgery." Akako concluded, standing up and walking towards the exit. "Stay safe, Kuroba-kun." She called out before leaving Kaito to his thoughts.

He had to say goodbye, the sooner the better.

✿

He was going to do it, he was going to confess to Kudo Shinichi and if he does reject him, he would get the surgery and move on with his life and hopefully not make things awkward with his roommate.

Or so, that was the plan. Really. Kaito wasn't sure if he could pull it off, he spent the entire day planning it out and masterfully crafting out his speech and even practicing to a mirror in his room but to no avail, the days passed and Kaito wasn't able to say a single word to Shinichi. 

Instead, he spent the next few days avoiding the detective as much as he could. Meaning, leaving early before Shinichi woke up, coming home late so that the detective would be fast asleep, he made sure to take a different route to his magic shows so that Shinichi wouldn't be able to ambush him on the streets. He felt sorry for having to do this to the detective but he had a valid reason for it and hopefully, after all of the disease passes over he could explain to him.

Now here he was, bent over the toilet in the public restroom of the park just by his apartment, hacking out yellow tulip petals. Kaito has observed, from the past few weeks that the petals were never the same. They changed every now and then, just like how the current petals he was coughing out were Yellow Tulips, different from the first Marigolds that he had vomited out. Another thing, the magician noticed was that the petals were gradually forming into a flower. The marigolds he coughed out were just petals, and slowly the petals came out with sepals and finally, with the hip of it. It was frighteningly beautiful to watch flowers form from petals to the full on thing and Kaito wasn't sure if he was going insane or he just really loved flowers that way.

Sucking in a segmented breath, Kaito pressed the heel of his palm against his left eye and took in a few deep breaths. After every time he hacked out petals, he always felt the slightest ease and he could breathe properly but it never lasted. Shinichi would pop up in his head and he'd find himself choking on air and rushing to find the nearest shop that sold hard candy or any type of cough drops (by now, he's tasted every type of candy in town and his favorite was the black coffee candy and if that didn't tell him that he was deep in love, nothing else could). 

Starting a walk, Kaito entered the familiar venue of his magic show and greeted Aoko who looked at him with an expectant look, "Not yet," Kaito murmured against the petals that threatened to spill from his mouth, swallowing back the mouthful of petals. The magician got ready for his next show, letting the familiar thrill of a show momentarily take him from his worldly problem. 

He spent the next hours killing time with Aoko at a nearby cafe, it was far too early to go back home and surely Shinichi would be prowling the streets in front and around their apartment. The duo stayed at the cafe until closing time discussing the next shows and magic tricks to be performed, Kaito had to thank his best friend profusely for staying with him this late and Aoko just smiled as she stood up and said, "He doesn't deserve you," and Kaito just snorted because Aoko didn't mean it for him, she meant that Shinichi shouldn't have to put up with his antics and dramatics. Ever the supportive best friend, and Kaito could feel the concern surrounding Aoko whenever he cleared his throat or took deep breaths. The lady had bought him an entire basket of cough drops and medicine, to try and soothe the magician's pain but only vomiting can momentarily help him, that or surgery. Which he would decide upon soon as the flowers in his lungs were gradually growing, judging by the yellow tulips that grew to the hip and the slightest peek of the stem could be seen underneath the flower. 

Kaito slunk into his apartment, with no noise. Not even a single breath as he crossed the hallway and towards the living room, his room was situated past the living room, a short distance really but the world really hated him when he found himself face to face with Kudo Shinichi.

Said detective was lounging at the couch with a copy of _'A Study in Scarlet'_ in hand and a cup of his strongest coffee resting by the small table. "Kaito," Shinichi started, sparing the thief a glance that burned the thief's entire existence because he could literally _feel_ the anger coming from his roommate. 

"Shinichi," Kaito replied, a little hoarsely and he cursed himself for that. 

"Pray tell, why are you avoiding me?" Shinichi asked, snapping his book shut and standing to face him fully. It occurred to the magician that the detective still hasn't changed out of his work clothes and that he most probably hadn't moved from the couch starting from when he got home.

"Avoiding? What are you talking about?" Kaito asked dumbly, scratching the back of his head. _'Don't vomit, don't vomit, don't vomit, for the love of god don't vomit.'_ He mentally chanted as he felt the petals tickling the back of his throat threatening to spill out. 

"Don't play dumb," Shinichi growled out, creeping closer to the thief with a deadly expression, "You've been leaving early and returning late, I can't catch you during shows and you changed your usual route to work." He explained with a frown, now standing a mere 5 feet from Kaito and God, the magician wanted to hug him and kiss him and he couldn't _breathe_ — 

"I've been spending time with Aoko, discussing about my show and time just passes by and I've been taking a different route to get inspiration," He lied through the skin of his teeth, tasting the sweet taste of the petals that were literally collecting just a bit before his mouth. 

Shinichi's face shuttered at the mention of Kaito's manager but he pressed on, "If this is about the magic show—" "No, of course not!" Kaito hastily denied, catching a petal with his tongue before it left his mouth, "I want to tell you that I don't care if you made a mistake, I love your magic shows and a single mistake won't change my opinion of you," Shinichi continued on and Kaito couldn't bear it. 

"'s that so? Great! I'm glad that my favorite critic still loves me, okay goodnight!" Kaito waved the detective goodnight much to the latter' displeasure as Kaito briskly walked pass him and into his room, making sure to lock it and block it with a table before throwing up as quietly as possible into his trash bin. 

Red Columbines, wonderful.

He made sure to burn the flowers before Shinichi woke up the next morning.

✿

As the days turned to weeks, Kaito found it progressively harder to breathe and function normally. In between meals he's been sucking on cough drops of every flavor and ducking into a public restroom at any given opportunity and overall, he felt horrible. His lungs felt as if they were constantly on fire, burning and scratchy as if the flowers inside were trying to puncture holes into his lungs. Aoko seemed to notice the progress as she's been contacting hospitals that could perform the surgery and placing them on standby just in case Kaito gives out and needs immediate treatment. The magician had to let her be in an attempt to somewhat soothe her concerns but he wasn't planning on getting the surgery anytime soon, he wanted to confess to Shinichi first while he still had his emotions and love for the Tokyo Detective, thank you very much.

And so time ticked on and Kaito found himself with another prospective target, a candidate of Pandora. And so started the magician's nightly routine, he scouted the venue. It was a Greek and Roman-inspired exhibit, showcasing different artifacts and jewels owned by multiple great people. 

The exhibit showcased a grand total of five jewels, Proserpina's Bane, Athena's Shield, Zues' Scepter, Persephone's Crown and Apollo's Lyre. All were refined and beautiful but the magician could tell that the others were fake. 

He got to working, setting his props, time delays and the usual things. The venue was indoors (obviously) in a spacious ballroom with large chandeliers hanging up top, gold painted the ivory walls, pictures hung on the walls and it had multiple balconies. Perfect.

Thumbing his heist notice with a gloved hand, Kaito (in a quick disguise) threw the card at the back of Inspector Nakamori's head and watched in sick satisfaction as the inspector's face changed into a lovely shade of angry red as he began to bark out commands to the KID Taskforce. 

"A heist notice from KID!!"

I will steal the rightful third seat's wife  
On the month of both boredom and excitement.  
Appearing on the dot, at the eleventh's highest tide  
As the white lady in the sky lays her soul bare and full.

 

\- Kaito Kid 

Kaito silently prayed that the heist notice was hard enough to stall Shinichi because he didn't want to hack up a bouquet in the middle of a heist. 

He forwent the important details, he hid it behind riddles but knowing his favorite critic. He'd have it solved under minutes but Kaito was praying that he at least gave the magician a head start so that he wouldn't have to face him on.

10:30 at night, Kaito stood at the rooftop of a building adjacent to the exhibit. Donning his familiar white suit, Kaito placed his top hat on his head and familiar metal monocle on his right eye. Counting down the minutes until show time. 

10:50, 1 minute left. Judging by Inspector Nakamori's preparedness, Shinichi had already solved his riddle and was most probably waiting for a chance to ambush him but tonight wasn't exactly for the jewel, he was here to forget about his problem dammit. He was going to enjoy himself!

Three....

Two....

One....

 _'It's showtime!'_

The thief flung himself off the rooftop and glided over to the exhibit, watching as the lights went out just as he programmed them to. KID sneakily threw a small glass shard at the doors to his left to create a distraction as he swiftly landed on top of one of the chandeliers. He took a few moments to watch Inspector Nakamori and the guest panick and approach the broken glass door to the balcony before snapping his fingers and pointing spotlights on himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" He started with a proud smirk, hanging by the chandelier as if he stood on solid ground. "I thank you all for coming to my show," KID purred out with a tip of his hat and a slight bow, watching as multiple guests including the Suzuki Heiress swooned. 

Inspector Nakamori screamed at the top of his lungs, barking at his men to catch the thief. Said men pointed more spotlights at KID, "That won't do, Inspector Nakamori," He tsk'ed out with a wag of his gloved finger, descending down just a few feet above the barking man. "We're all here to enjoy a show, right?" Another snap of his fingers cut the lights off and they were all submerged into darkness, that was until tiny circular lights lit up the place. 

The crowd was dumbfounded, hands flying to touch the illusions that gave off light but seemed intangible. Colored lights lit up once again, making a spotlight for KID who was standing in mid-air. "Please, be my guest and enjoy this show!" He called out, spreading his arms with flourish as the lights began to dance before closing in on KID's form and circled him before disappearing as they touched his body and reappearing back with the guests. Colored spotlights flitting and moving around, KID took the momentary chaos to slip into the crowd and stole his prize of the night. Inspector Nakamori made his way over to the display cases just in time to watch KID descend up into the chandelier where flames seem to light up even on the electrically powered chandeliers. 

"Tonight is a ball!" KID exclaimed once more, gliding and dancing several feet above the Taskforce as the Paganini Caprice Op. 1 No. 24 began to play, filling the room with music as the lights dimmed and spotlights pointed towards numerous couples. Inspector Nakamori was dumbfounded as he tried to search for the phantom thief who was well on his way out of the exhibit with the gem heavy in his breast pocket. 

He landed on the building that he previously came from, releasing his hang glider and swiftly changing out of his attire, 3 minutes later he was back to being Kuroba Kaito, ready to join the impromptu ball that KID started. He almost forgot to check the jewel.

Holding up the gem, Kaito wasn't exactly expecting a bright red gleam but he also didn't expect the tiny note stuck on the jewel. 

_'It's a dummy!_

 _\- With love, S'_

And oh, said 'S' came up from behind Kaito with a chuckle. "I figured most of the notice out after an hour of pondering," The detective said with a cocky smirk as Kaito turned to look at him with a pout, flowers blossoming in the back of his throat. 

"The time and date were easy, you just have to look at a calendar. September doesn't have anything spectacular and yet people find it special, check on the date of the full moon and September 11th's highest tide, which is in the morning but the third line of your heist notice correlates to the second one so we can safely assume that you'd do your heist at 10:51 in the evening." Shinichi presented with a smirk, arms crossed and stance imposing. Kaito found himself shrinking back a tiniest inch.

"As for the jewel, I wasn't actually sure yet," Shinichi answered with a flicker of embarrassment, "I was partial to the other jewel, Proserpina's Bane but seeing your earlier stunt, that you most likely gave out as a hint because you're soft on your TaskForce like that. I was able to deduce that you were after Proserpina's Greek Counterpart, Persephone. As the lights that filled the room were round and small, just like the pomegranate seeds she ate. And the lights flocked around you as if you willingly ate it, just like the Greek myth wherein Persephone ate the pomegranate seeds rather than being forced to eat it like Proserpina, I swapped the real thing with a dummy and here we are," Shinichi finished with a shrug, seemingly satisfied with himself judging by the glint in his eyes.

"Oh and by the way, the Ball that you initiated was a cover up so that no one would hear the sound of the wires of the lights recoiling," Shinichi added with a cocky expression, "Nice choice of piece by the way," Kaito felt light at the compliment. 

"Now, Meitantei. If you could lend me the jewel so that I may check?" Kaito asked with a clear of his throat, holding his hand out for Shinichi to give him the jewel, said detective threw it at him which he caught with ease. He held the jewel under the moonlight, expecting nothing but instead a bright red glow glimmered from the gem and Kaito let out a broken gasp.

"Pandora." Kaito whispered against sobs that threatened to rack his body, he fell backwards into the chest of the other man, smelling the faint traces of lavender and the shampoo that Shinichi always uses. "Kaito," The detective whispered from behind him, even he was shaking as he knew the importance of the jewel and the time that the magician spent on finding it.

Kaito let out a broken sob as he cradled the jewel before throwing it to the ground and smashing it underneath his foot. As anticlimactic as it was, Kaito felt a large weight being lifted from his shoulders as he turned to hug the detective (who stiffened up and went rigid, he noted).

"It's over," Kaito whispered against a few tears that escaped his poker face, tightening his grip around the detective who responded with an equally tight hug. And for the moment, Kaito forgot about his worries and just enjoyed the other's warmth. They pulled apart after eternity and Kaito thought of an idea.

"Shinichi?" The magician started, pulling back just inches away from the detective, "There's something I have to tell you." He gulped, he was going to do it. He had to tell because if he prolonged it any further he would potentially die.

"Yes?" Shinichi breathed out with a hopeful gleam, looking at him with half-lidded eyes filled with happiness and the exact same fondness that Kaito saw in him on the day that he fumbled on stage. 

The words got caught in Kaito's throat as he fumbled with the words, he didn't exactly notice how Shinichi was slowly leaning in with one of his hands tucked underneath Kaito's chin making him look up and if Kaito just leaned a little bit more, they might actually be able to kiss—

With a hefty push, Kaito regained some distance from the man and shook his head. "Never mind," Kaito choked out with a gasp, hand flying over his mouth to stop the flowers from spilling from his mouth. "You better get back to the party, Mouri-chan might be waiting. I gotta tell Aoko the news," Oh how he hated the way Shinichi's eyes turned from radiant azure to dull blue, he hated the way his shoulders stiffened and everything was just so wrong. 

"You're right," Shinichi answered monotonously, turning on his heels and mechanically stalked out of the rooftop leaving Kaito alone. 

Said man turned around, fell on his knees and spewed out a large amount of small white flowers. Kaito scrunched up his nose as an unpleasant smell permeated from the pile of flowers. _Hemlocks_ , Kaito faintly observed as he leaned against the railing of the rooftop. 

Dizzy and disconcerted, Kaito vaguely remembered calling Aoko's number and telling her that he literally just vomited out a poisonous flower and that he didn't mind dying if he gets to see Shinichi smile like he did just a few minutes ago till the very end.

✿

Finding Pandora was like a dream, it still felt like one when Kaito got up from the ground and collected the broken shards of Pandora. Making sure to pulverize it before letting the dust fly with the wind, to never be exploited.

The happiness that Kaito felt was glazed over by the suffocating feeling he felt, the flowers that stood proudly in a pile omitted the worst smell ever and Kaito wasn't exactly happy to know that poisonous flowers were currently terrorizing his lungs and throat, even more so when said flowers had hip and stem with them but he didn't mind it, he decided that he'd go down with the sickness. Besides, Pandora was found, the crows that haunted him were gone, what more to live for? Surely Shinichi wouldn't mind bunking with Heiji or maybe even having the apartment for himself. 

When he called Aoko, the lady had immediately asked where he was and hung up as soon as he told her. 15 minutes later, Aoko came bursting through the door with a bag of cough medicine. 

"Aoko..." The magician acknowledged her presence with a weak nod, still rather shaken up from his earlier vomiting session. "You are a huge idiot," She whispered with a frown and a scrunch of her eyebrows, settling down beside the slumped man and rubbing soothing circles on his back. "We're getting the surgery," Aoko said, leaving no room for argument. Kaito let out a small moan of disagreement but the flowers in his throat prevented him from making too much noise. 

"After tomorrow's performance, please," Kaito whispered hoarsely, with pleading indigo eyes and Aoko had to give in. "Fine, but not any longer than that. After the show, we're going to the hospital and getting that surgery." She finalized, handing Kaito a cough drop (who made it a point to cross his heart as if to promise her) before standing to collect the Hemlocks that stood by their side. "I'll burn these...." She said, gesturing to the Hemlocks currently placed inside a plastic bag, "Please do," Kaito asked sitting upright and trying to steady his breathing into slow deep breaths. Every inhale felt like he was swallowing tiny needles, it hurt. It felt like his throat was closing up. 

Aoko left for a few minutes to dispose of the flowers into the nearest fire and came back with some chocolate. "You know me so well," Kaito commented with a small smile, making grabby motions at the chocolate in the lady's hands. The two spent the next minutes just eating chocolate in silence, even though every time Kaito swallowed it felt like a bunch of needles, the taste of chocolate gave him a sense of comfort. 

"Hey Kaito," Aoko started after their third chocolate bar, "Yeah?" The magician asked, licking the melted chocolate off of his fingers. "Did you really mean it when you said you'd die for Shinichi?" She asked and Kaito slumped back against the metal railings, "You knew who my love interest is?" He whined out, coughing at the sudden outburst of words. "Not important," Aoko rolled her eyes, "Back to the main question, did you really mean it?" 

Kaito sighed and nodded, much to Aoko's displeasure. "Yes, I meant it." He answered with a wince as Aoko's hands balled into fists, ready to punch him senseless. "I don't mind dying for him, really. We've been through a lot together and I don't want to ruin whatever we have between us by making things awkward by confessing. And Shinichi," Kaito winced as the flowers seemed to flutter and climb up his throat at the thought of the man, "He looks at me with this fondness that's akin to looking at children or babies and he seems to still love Mouri-chan so I can't just insert myself in. The best I can do is fake moving out and disappearing from his life," Kaito had planned it, if ever he failed to go through with the surgery. He planned to move out, leave Shinichi and disappear without a trace. Cowardly as it was, he didn't want to Shinichi to know that he died from unrequited love. 

Aoko sighed and rubbed a crease on her forehead, "Have you ever thought that he might feel the same way?" She asked, Kaito shook his head and commented that 'Shinichi isn't gay, he told me around the first 3 months of living together that he loved Mouri-chan'. "That was a year ago! Have you asked him again?" The brunette asked and again, the magician shook his head. 

"What if you're wasting your time thinking that it's unrequited when it's actually requited?" Aoko asked with a groan, popping in another chocolate in her mouth, "Then I'll ask him tomorrow and if he says no, and in the event that I pass out from his rejection I want you to lower me into the grave so that you can let me down one last time," Kaito snickered and gasped as Aoko jabbed his rib sharply. 

The two spent the next hour chatting and eating chocolate until Inspector Nakamori called Aoko telling her that the impromptu ball was done and was coming home, they said good night to each other with a tight hug as if telling each other that Kaito wouldn't die overnight from pining. 

Later that evening, Kaito swore to himself that he _would_ tell Shinichi once and for all the reason for his behavior for the past few weeks.

✿

The next day, Kaito planned to greet Shinichi but the detective was gone before the magician even woke up. If that didn't spell out 'trouble', Kaito didn't know what did.

The show that he had that evening was one of his important shows, Suzuki Heiress and her uncle were going, as well as many critics and reporters. In short, it was the biggest show he's ever done and if he failed or slipped up he would doom his entire career and would sooner starve to death without a job than die from flowers. 

That morning, Kaito had spent 30 minutes hacking up Hemlocks into the toilet seat as he woke up thinking about how close he almost kissed Shinichi. 

It took an hour for the man to calm himself down and do his routine, he ate two cough drops at once for breakfast since eating toast was too painful for him. 

He arrived to chaos, staff were running back and forth setting up props, fixing lighting, music and the like. Aoko stood at the middle, with a large checklist of things in one hand and a ear piece in one hand, barking orders to the tech team to fix the blue lights. _'It had to be Indigo, like Kaito's eyes, Indigo!!'_ and the bustle of the entire place made Kaito forget about what might transpire that evening.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your star is here!' Kaito entered with flourish, giving the nearby staff a bouquet of flowers. "Let's do our best tonight!" He shouted, ignoring the burn of his throat as the staff yelled back with morale high. 

Showtime was less than 30 minutes away and guests were starting to fill the seats and tables, Suzuki Heiress and her uncle were early, occupying the front left table. Then Magic Daily News came next, taking a spot near the stage and propping up cameras and recorders, followed by Magician's Weekly Paper, snotty reporters who nit picked every detail, so on and so forth until the one person that Kaito dreaded to come appeared through the doors with none other than Mouri Ran. 

At the mere sight of Kudo Shinichi, wearing his tux and basically looking perfect, Kaito had to physically stop the flowers from exiting his mouth. He can do this, he had to do this. For Aoko, for Akako, for himself. He couldn't chicken out now. He promised Aoko that he'd go through with it, all the way to the surgery. 

"Kuroba-san, you're up in 5!" A girl from the tech team informed with a head set in hand, Kaito took in a deep breath and fixed his suit, finalized the position of his tricks and stood by the curtains, waiting for his cue. The girl counted to five with her fingers and finally, Kaito shouted. 

"Ladies and gentlemen!! Welcome to my show!" And so it started, with vibrant fireworks and explosions. Kaito appeared on stage when the smoke cleared out, giving his audience a dazzling smile. 

The stage was a battlefield, his opponents were his audience. It was the mantra Kaito often recited whenever he performed in front of people, it gave him strength to perform. 

He was in the middle of walking in air, surrounded by stars and dimmed lights when he decided to look towards Shinichi's table. He shouldn't have as he found Shinichi conversing with Ran, a rather important topic as the detective wasn't even sparing the magician a glance and Kaito _slipped_ , his body fell forward due to the shock that rippled through his body along with a mouthful of flowers. He improvised, he signaled for the tech to make the wires move and so he began to fly around. With a hearty laugh, Kaito soared through the crowd and back down on the stage.

After this show, he would tell Shinichi. After this show, he would get the surgery. After this show, he would stop loving Shinichi but Kaito couldn't see his life without loving the detective, he couldn't see himself not smiling at how the detective always greeted him in the morning, he couldn't see himself not returning the smile as his heart beat fast. He couldn't, he didn't want that. 

He managed to do the rest of his show with enough perseverance, even with the fact that he couldn't breathe anymore. His final act was coming up, he would disappear with his doves. Kaito managed to make said doves appear from his top hat before placing them on his body and disappearing with sparks as the doves flew away, each carrying a bouquet to every table and disappearing with a puff of smoke themselves. 

Backstage, Kaito leaned against a support beam and took in a ragged breath. He couldn't breathe, his gaze was swimming, his lungs were on fire, he couldn't _breathe_.

"Kaito, that was an amazing performance, even with the slip up. K-Kaito?!" No, it was too early. What was Shinichi doing backstage?! 

Kaito looked up from the ground in front of him to greet the detective but what came out was a strangled choke as the magician fell forward and literally spilled his guts out. He could faintly see full bloom Crimson Red Roses complete with stem and thorns falling down in front of him, he could also faintly smell the scent of iron as the thorns on said flowers scraped his throat and mouth on their way out. 

"Kaito!" The detective shouted out, lunging forward and grabbing onto the thief as Kaito fell forward, emptying his stomach(??) of the flowers. "If this is Aoko, I swear to god." Shinichi hissed out, worry and horror clear in his voice.

"Not. Aoko." The magician managed to hiss out between chokes and gasps, he was choking on flowers, on his own blood. God, was he going to die?

Aoko came rushing in after a few seconds, "Kaito!!" She screamed out, skidding beside the magician who was currently throwing up roses and blood. "We need to get him out of here!!," The lady cried out hysterically, fearing for her best friend's life. Kaito could faintly see the silhouette of Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko behind her. 

"Is it Ran?" Shinichi asked and Aoko had to give him an incredulous look, she opened her mouth as if to tell Shinichi about Kaito's predicament but the magician gripped onto her arm as if to tell her to stop. "We need to get him to the hospital," Aoko stated, looking around for an exit. Sonoko seemed to have an idea as she left in a hurry, rejoining her uncle and screeching out 'OH MY GOD, IT'S KID-SAMA!!!' Followed by high pitched squeals and running out of the venue, literally everyone followed her and Kaito was grateful for the heiress. 

He vaguely remembered being carried by strong arms before he passed out.

✿

He awoke to a white room with Shinichi gripping tightly onto his hand, judging by the scratchy vice grip he felt around his neck, he still hasn't gotten the surgery yet. Perfect.

The magician tried to sit upright, the movement jolted the detective awake with a loud 'Kaito!', azure eyes lit with concern. "Hey," Kaito whispered hoarsely, wincing at how much his throat hurt from his words. 

"Don't hey me! Why didn't you tell me?" Shinichi's voice dropped into a whisper as his shoulders trembled and Kaito shook his head managing to grit out a 'Didn't want to worry you' against the pain. 

"Kaito, you've been shot at before and remember you promised you'd tell me if you're hurt?' The detective argued, halfway on top of the bed. "But I'm not hurt..." Kaito trailed off, feeling small underneath Shinichi's gaze. 

"Won't matter..... Getting surgery." Kaito choked against his words, gripping tightly against the white sheets, Shinichi seemed to relax at his words but stiffened again when he asked, "Who is it? I'll talk to them." And if Kaito's throat didn't feel like the Sahara mixed with thorns he would have laughed.

The magician opened his mouth to answer Shinichi's question but the flowers beat him to it.

Purple petals cascaded from his mouth as Kaito lurched forward to hack up a flurry of small flowers, Shinichi looked alarmed and as if he just lose years from his life. The petals were accompanied with the smallest specks of red, aftermaths of the roses. 

Wisterias, how convenient. 

"For you," Kaito managed to choke up, looking down at the pile of Wisterias that pooled between his legs. For many moments it was quiet and Kaito briefly thought that vomiting was better than having to endure the silence. 

He was greeted by a rough tackle spreading Wisterias everywhere, the detective pinned him down to the bed and exclaimed "You stupid, stupid, _**stupid**_ thief!!" Over and over again, followed by many kisses. On Kaito's nose, on his cheeks, his forehead, his neck and finally, on his lips.

The magician was stunned, not being able to respond properly due to the shock that his unrequited love was very requited and gosh darn, somewhere in the world Aoko was laughing at his stupid ass.

The detective pulled back after an eternity and Kaito could breathe, he could _breathe_ clearer and deeper than he's ever done in the past week. "You idiotic thief, why didn't you just say something?" Shinichi whispered against the crook of his neck, "I'm sorry," Kaito replied hoarsely but he was smiling so happily he couldn't feign his repentance. The detective pulled back to kiss him once more and this time, Kaito was ready to match him. 

"Bloody hell!" A British accent rang out as the couple broke apart, begrudgingly. There stood Hakuba Saguru with a cheery bouquet of daisies in one hand while the other was covering his eyes in horror, "I came to greet you and give you get well flowers and you decide to snog with your boyfriend? I need brain bleach, I need to get out of here before clothes start flying off." The British detective shakily placed the flowers in a vase and quickly exited with a flight of English cusses.

Next to arrive was Akako, just as Shinichi was about to shove his tongue down Kaito's throat and the magician had to inwardly groan at the horrible timing of his friends.

"I see that the Red Witch didn't take another victim today, oh ho ho ho~." Akako let out a high pitched laugh, approaching the bed where Shinichi pulled the magician close as if to protect him. "Congratulations, Kuroba Kaito. You won against her curse." Akako greeted with a soft smile, with a little melancholy as she offered the two a bouquet of Ambrosia and Azalea flowers before leaving with another high pitched laugh.

"Weird," Shinichi commented with a shrug as he placed the flowers in a different case before returning to bed with magician, who immediately smirked at him with a look that was too sexy for a human being.

Again, Shinichi's hand was halfway done with Kaito's pant's zipper when the magician heard a familiar cackle, the door way revealed a certain brunette who looked too satisfied with herself as she held a bouquet of white heathers and red tulips. 

"Have a condom?" Aoko snickered out as she pointedly stared at Shinichi's hand that was halfway down Kaito's pants. Shinichi retracted it and sheepishly slunk down to Kaito's side, hugging him and burying his face into the crook of his neck.

"I still don't think Kudo deserves a Kaito in his life," Kaito made a noncommittal noise, "But I'm sure Kudo can take care of you, have a lovely night~!" Aoko chirped out as she placed her bouquet on the third vase before promptly going over and squeezing the magician into a tight hug, whispering a soft 'Thank God' into Kaito's ear much to Shinichi's jealousy. "I'm glad things worked out," Aoko said with a bright smile, giving Shinichi a nod before leaving the room.

"Now," Shinichi started, making sure to lock the door, "Where were we?" He asked as he fished out a condom from his pocket and the next day the nurses were glaring at the magician and Kaito, well Kaito had a sore throat for a whole different reason.

Yeah, Kaito _**loved**_ flowers.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this fic! There's a lot of Hanakotoba in this one and here they are!  
> • Orchids — Love, Beauty and Refinement  
> • Bells of Ireland — "Good Luck."  
> • Chrysanthemums — "You're a wonderful friend.", Cheerfulness and Rest.  
> • Anemone — Forsaken  
> • Marigolds — Cruelty and Grief  
> • Yellow Tulips — Hopeless Love  
> • Red Columbine — Anxious and trembling  
> • Hemlocks — "You will be my death" and are highly poisonous.  
> • Dark Crimson Roses in Full Bloom — Dark Crimson Roses mean 'Mourning' while Roses in full bloom, usually represented singularly mean "I still love you".  
> • Wisterias — It could mean "Mystery and Beauty" but I chose this specific flower because the readings of the kanji for "Kudo", means "craft" or "construction" (工) and you guessed it, "wisteria" (藤).  
> • Daisies — Innocence, Loyal Love and "I'll Never Tell". Daisies are also recommended to be given to hospital patients so yes, Hakuba's not in love with Kai, he just brought the No.1 recommended flower for patients.  
> • Ambrosia — "Your Love is Reciprocated."  
> • Azalea — "Take care of yourself for me."  
> • White Heathers — Protection and "Wishes come true".  
> • Red Tulips — "Believe me".
> 
> And that's all the flowers in this fic! I'm honestly a little unsatisfied at my pacing for this fic since it just seems all over the place which I'll try to do better on in my next fic but hey, Hakuba and Akako make their first appearance! 
> 
> Speaking of next fic, I dropped some hints of it in the fic, were you able to find it? Huehuehue XD
> 
> Akako in this fic portrayed some melancholic characteristics and this is because she went through the Hanahaki Disease before and of course, for Kaito but she took the surgery and currently does not have any romantic feeling for him other than the knowledge that she once had said romantic feelings for him. 
> 
> On another note, I'm trying to get to that smexy scene but I can't write it without blushing and spluttering myself. Aaaaaa 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it! Till the next fic, see you~!


End file.
